Habitat & RangeThis crab is found along the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to California. It lives from the intertidal to depths of 225 m, generally on sandy or muddy substrates, or in eelgrass beds.

Similar SpeciesThe slender cancer crab (Cancer gracilis) may be mistaken for the dungeness, however it is a smaller species, growing to only 11 cm wide. The carapace shape differs slightly, with the widest point at the 9th tooth and edged with white. The legs and claws are purple, as opposed to yellow in the dungeness, although they are still white-tipped. The slender cancer crab also lacks spiny ridges on its claw segments, though it does have two large teeth on each dactyl of the pincer.

The dungeness may be confused with a juvenile red rock crab (Cancer productus), though the pincers of the lattter are tipped with black rather than white. Their carapace shape differs as well, with the red rock crab having coarser, larger toothing near the front than the dungeness.

Human UsesThe dungeness crab is harvested at subsistence, recreational and commercial levels by First Nations and other people in the region. It is preferred over the red rock crab because it is generally more abundant and yields more meat. Click here for a video of dungeness crab fishing.